After not being included into the group as the composer, Haruka goes back to her grandmother’s to think things over.

Final Impression:

ARGGGG.God, freaking, damn it.
Seriously Utapri?

WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY?!

WHY MUST YOU END NOW?!

…Well that sucked.
I was really hoping more for the finale even though I had decided to lower my expectations since last episode’s episode, but man, the only good part of all this was the full ST☆RISH performance and the vocal only (for most part) Map to the Future. I was grinning and suppressing my squeals during their last performance. It was EXTRA fabulous!

The rest however, was super annoying, frustrating and finished off my hopeful expectations I had since episode 1. Therefore, I really don’t have much to talk about! It was great to see Haruka’s grandmother? Maybe? I don’t know, I really don’t care.

I think the most disappointing part about this show is the fact there was no significant romance development, and arg – it frustrates me so much because I watch this, because I want to see ROMANCE, after all apparently whoever is in charge of giving shows the genre says there’s supposed to be romance, BUT SERIOUSLY- THERE’S NONE!

The show is amazing if you watch it for the comedy, music and bishies, but for serious plot and romance, forget it. You’re not going to get it.

So what that 95% of the time whenever it comes to Reverse Harems, they wraps up with an open ending! The problem here is- they were missing out the main criteria of giving at least some of the characters romantic developments. No, just feelings won’t do, I want to see jealousy in action, I want to see hugging and conflicts and ARG. YOU KNOW THAT FUCKING OPENING IS VERY MISLEADING. DON’T COUNT ON IT.

If Uta no Prince-sama were to make a Season 2, in order to win my heart, they need to throw in that damn romance I’ve been waiting for since episode 1. I find the most frustrating part is that they focused so much on Tokiya and Haruka, you’re led to believe that perhaps they have a fucking chance.

But no. They don’t.
And this brings me to the second problem with this show:

They focused far too much on Tokiya and Haruka. The first half was Haruka, the second half was Tokiya – logically speaking you’d think something is going to happen between the two, especially Tokiya of all the boys is given the spotlight (not to mention hogging it) and his conflict with Haruka took more time to develop compared to the other boys which was done in just one episode. They were given so many opportunities to have more time together, but noooo, they decided to do it differently.

My third complaint is that they should’ve made this 24 episodes.(HECK I THINK EVERYONE AGREES WITH ME HERE. WE WANT MOARRRRR!!!!)
Why? Well think about it, the last four episodes were completely crammed, rushed and complete bullshit, including this one. They wasted the final episode, with Haruka having returned to her grandmother’s and being all sad (at this point I don’t blame her but still) and as she makes her resolve, the boys and Shining show up- and Shining reveals that he did that to test her and shit.

With 24 episodes, it would’ve given not only more time to expand and not cram the plot development and improve the relationships, but they would’ve also been able to include ‘events’ that happens in the game. For most cases, these shows that are based off Otome games INCLUDE significant events, but because they decided to go with an open ending, it just screws everything up.

Finally, it enrages me how the eroge game based animes that are targeted for the male audience 95% of the time ends with a canon pairing, while the otome ones end up with these shitty open endings! You know why people liked Hakuouki despite all its tragedies? BECAUSE IT HAD A FINAL FUCKING PAIRING AND DEVELOPMENT! AND THE STORY WAS FUCKING AWESOME.

Overall, putting the lack of romance aside, Uta no Prince-sama was awesome. The characters are likable, unique and quirky, the music/OST is outstanding, all the seiyuus are wonderful and the animation was also very nice (for more part besides to abuse of sparkles). I didn’t get my summer romance, but considering how bad this season was, Uta no Prince-sama can be considered to stand out as one of the good ones, but mind you, don’t take this show seriously- if you do, well it won’t be as enjoyable as it should be since comedy plays a huge part in making this show a success.

Overall Review:

Although I usually now days make a seperate post for the Overall Review, I’m going to keep it in this post because there’s absolutely nothing to spoil, and the above are pretty important points you should probably know ahead of time so that you don’t feel like you had wasted your time watching this show.

Story/Plot: 5/10

There’s not much plot except for Tokiya’s. In fact, it was so focused on what I call the ‘Hayato Conflict’ that it not only took up a chunk of time, but only revolved around his character and not so much on the others until he and the boys became a group and his job as Hayato was screwing up their scheduled practices.
Then there’s Haruka- it really doesn’t dig deep. Her conflict lasts for only a short while.

Overall, what can I say- the plot sucked because there’s no way you could take it seriously, except for Hayato’s conflict. I’ll give this a five.

Characters and Development: 7/10

The character are all likable, unique and quirky and not to mention insane. For most part, we got most of the character’s development and backstory covered, but it bothered me that we never were able to spend a bit more time on both Shou’s and Natsuki’s characters. I would’ve liked to have learned a bit more about what we saw in Natsuki’s memories when Satsuki was in control. It also bothered me that we received no explanation to follow up how Satsuki came to be in the first place, which would’ve been really interesting.

The second was Shou’s poor health and the fact he too, like Tokiya has a twin brother that never debuted.
I also believe they should’ve clarified when it was revealed (though it was already obvious) that Tokiya was Hayato himself, and despite that lie claiming his brother was Hayato, show that he actually exists.
Of course then again, those who haven’t played the game or looked at the spoilers of the game (like I had) wouldn’t have known about it.

Animation Quality: 8/10

The unique coloring, especially for Haruka’s character design takes a while to get used to, as her pupils are green rather than black. Otherwise there’s alot of sparkles, the character designs are pretty good, there’s alot of redheads in this anime, so be ready for that.

OST: 10/10

There’d be something wrong if I didn’t feel I could give this show a 100% grade on its fabulous OST. Utapri’s OST, Character CDs all blew me away. For the first time, I actually love every single character song. Usually I only come around to like one or two, but this time I can enjoy them all. My two favorites are Natsuki’s (オリオンでSHOUT OUT ) is definitely one you MUST hear as well as (Top Star Revolution) that’s also included in his CD. I’m also fond of Tokiya’s (Nanairo No Compass) and ((this better be included in the OST) Amazing Grace). The group’s song of Starish was also amazing and I loved how they included a piece of lyric from each of the boy’s songs.

Recommendation: Yes, but not for people who are seeking good romance that ends with a Canon pairing.

Extra Note: In the beginning of the show, I’ve been hearing from a lot of people around the fandom mention that this is similar to La Corda d’Oro. Being a fan of both the anime and the manga, I can happily tell you they are not. Utapri and La Corda d’Oro may share the reverse harmen and music theme, but they are extremely different from each other. For one La Corda d’Oro focused on classical instruments and had no vocalist competitor. The main character Hino Kahoko also was only able to take part of the competition because she had received a Magic Violin that allowed her to play decently without having any prior expirence. Here in Utapri, Nanami Haruka is a talented musician who learns music by ear and didn’t need magic to do the trick. Oddly enough, both stories have a little bit of magic, but for Utapri, it only revolves around Cecil. The characters are also pretty different too, although they all do share a similar problem or personality one way or another- but that’s common for this genre. Unlike La Corda d’Oro, Utapri is a comedy, almost every episode will be laughing and La Corda d’Oro had less humor and more drama. These two animes are very different, but if you like La Corda d’Oro you will be sure to like this.

Will I watch it again?

The show is funny, so of course I would. I’ve been able to watch it over and over again for quite a while now. I’m not going to let the lack of romance stop me. I LOVE UTA NO PRINCE-SAMA!!!!

If there’s a season 2 would I watch it?

Absolutely. But as I pointed in the above- in order to win my heart besides the comedy, I need some romance please, that would be much appreciated for some of us. I would imagine it would revolve around their new game, ‘Debute’ where those bishies below are the boys’ senpais.

BONUS QUESTION: WOULD I BUY THE GAME IF IT WERE TO COME TO NORTH AMERICA?

YES I FUCKING WOULD, AND I KNOW THIS GAME IS AMAZINGGGGGGGGGG, SO YEAH.

BONUS BLURB:

See these guys here? They are part of the new game.
Aren’t they smoking fabulous?

6 Responses

I feel the same sentiments as you. Before seeing the last episode, I have resigned myself to the fact that Haruka won’t end up with anybody.:[

When them awesome bishies said “See you next time” in the ending credit part, I am also hoping that they create a season 2. The whole show felt rushed and it’s really disappointing not to see anyone end up together. Pfft.

Anyhoo, do you happen to know the title of the game those 4 guys up there are gonna be in? The 2nd guy from the left looks like Cloud Strife. LOL.

Cecil is the secret route in the game that requires to be unlocked, so put it this way- he’s not the main or secondary character, so it’s natural for him to only make a brief appearance.
And to be honest I wasn’t even expecting them to put him in the show since I thought maybe they’d include him in an OVA or something.